Saturday, August 31, 2013

BINAGOONGANG SANTOL

                                             

During santol season, I make this  condiment made from grated flesh of santol fruit cooked in thick coconut milk mixed with my veggie 'bagoong'.

'Bagoong' is a favorite Filipino condiment originally made with salted fish or shrimp paste. 'Bagoong' originated from the classic Malay condiment called 'Belacan'. Belacan is made from geragao (shrimp) or krill, that has been salted, dried and fermented and is an essential item in Malay cuisine. Malays cannot eat without rice and belacan! Malays also like their belacan fiery hot!

When the first and second wave of our Malay ancestors came 5,000 years ago, they settled in the Ilocos, Tagalog and Bicol regions. They introduced belacan which later became the Ilocanos' 'bagoong iloko' (made from fish) and the Tagalogs' 'bagoong alamang' (made from shrimp). Malays also introduced many exotic fruits, one of them being the santol fruit originating from Peninsular Malaysia.

'Binagoongang santol' (a variation of belacan) originated in the Bicol region. One of the legendary ten Malay datus who first came settled in Bicol and introduced fiery hot belacan. His descendants introduced binagoongang santol. To this day, taking from the Malay legacy, Ilocanos cannot eat rice without bagoong. And Bicolanos cannot eat rice without fiery hot ulam (main dish).

Here is my recipe of binagoongang santol with veggie 'bagoong'.




5-6 pcs santol fruit
1 c thick coconut milk (250 ml coconut cream)
salt, chilis

Procedure:
1. Peel santol. Take out seeds. Grate the banakal (flesh).


2. Cook in coconut milk, adding salt and chilis, until banakal is tender and a bit oily. Remove from heat.


3. Add veggie 'bagoong'. Mix well. Preserve in a jar. Serve.



Veggie ‘Bagoong’
(Salted Black Bean Paste)

1 can salted yellow beans (misi), 180g
or salted black beans (tausi), 180g
1/2 c mashed tofu or tokwa
¼ c tomato paste
2 Tbsp garlic
2 Tbsp leeks, spring onions or onions
1 c dried sea weeds (nori), strips
2 Tbsp sugar
chilis, seasoning

1. Blend or mash yellow or black beans. Set aside.
2. Saute garlic in oil. Add leeks, spring onions or onions. Add tomato paste and a little water. Cook very well. Add blended beans, seaweed strips and mashed tofu or tokwa, chilis, seasoning and sugar. Cook until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Serve.


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Monday, August 19, 2013

TURONES FILIPINO CON YEMA


This is just my regular turon made even more delicious by drizzling caramel sauce on top. Turon is a favorite Filipino snack food made from sliced saba bananas rolled in sugar, wrapped in spring roll wrapper with slices of ripe langka (jackfruit) strips, then fried...

The name 'turon' is derived from the Spanish word 'turrones' (sweetened nougats) but the concept of frying saba bananas in sugar is traditionally Indonesian, and the concept of wrapping in lumpia wrapper is traditionally Chinese.

When our early Indonesian ancestors came 7,000 years ago, they brought with them their favorite snack food called Pisang Goreng (similar to our maruya) made from fried 'pisang kepok' (saba bananas), rolled in muscovado sugar, then fried in coconut oil.

When the Chinese came in the 11th century, they brought with them their favorite food called 'lumpia' (fried spring rolls made with mongo bean sprouts or toge). Thus, there was a union of the two foods and the sweetened pisang goreng was then cooked with the crunchy Chinese lumpia touch.

When the Spaniards came in the 15th century, they liked the taste of the crunchy pisang goreng, but for an added European taste, they poured caramel sauce (called yema or yemita) on it before serving. 


It was a Spanish tradition to always put caramel sauce on custards, cakes and puddings. They named pisang goreng 'turones filipino con yema'. When the Spaniards left, the name 'turon' stuck but it was still crunchy pisang goreng served plain, without the yema.

For the yema sauce, I use my basic butterscotch sauce featured in Gulay ebook 1. You can use any caramel sauce recipe if you want. My recipe for Turones Filipino con Yema is featured in Gulay ebook 3.
 

Basic Butterscotch Sauce:

2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 c brown or light brown sugar
1 c water
1/4 c butter
4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Turon:
5 pcs ripe saba
10 pcs lumpia wrapper
sugar
pieces of langka strips
chopped cashew or peanuts

1. Basic Butterscotch Sauce: Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt thoroughly in a pan. Stir in 1/2 c water mixing until smooth. Set aside.


2. In a separate pan, boil remaining 1/2 c water. Add vanilla. Add cornstarch-sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Cook for one minute. Remove from fire.

3. Add butter. Serve hot or cold.


4. Turon: Peel the bananas. Cut in half. Roll the bananas in sugar. Arrange 2 pieces of halved saba horizontally on lumpia wrapper, ends overlapping. Put pieces of langka strips on top. Roll lumpia wrapper and seal with a little water.


5. Fry until golden brown. Arrange on a platter.


6. Drizzle with basic butter scotch sauce. Sprinkle chopped cashew or peanuts on top. Serve.


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